The Road Not Taken
by jootsgarland
Summary: Ash and Misty's adventures are seemingly over for another chapter, but what if letting go wasn't that simple? Pokeshipping.


**_The Road Not Taken_**

Here's a little ficlet for you all while you wait for the newest installment of 'The Internship', enjoy!

 _Because this little ficlet wouldn't leave me alone! and... I don't know why I like to put these characters through so much angst! Ash and Misty's adventures are seemingly over for another chapter, but what if letting go wasn't that simple?_

* * *

"Come along with us! _Please_ we need another girl in the gang. " May bemoaned, rolling her eyes playfully.

Misty' s eyes darted around before finding Ash's, and somehow Ash already knew what the water pokemon trainer's answer would be.

"I might come along. " Misty agreed, "If you all wanted me with you. "

"Sure you can! We'd love you to come along, right Ash?" May asked, her excitement causing her voice to raise several octaves.

"May can you er, wait with Max just a sec?" Ash said in a tone that he hoped sounded nonchalant and didn't reflect the panic in his mind. Fortunately, the brunette didn't appear concerned. She nodded eagerly, "Just make sure she comes with us, okay? " She nudged him as she passed.

When they were sure the the girl was out of sight, Misty unlocked the chains keeping her trusty bicycle in place, Ash simply watching her mutely, feeling quite numb. Something about Misty's reaction and the words she used didn't sit right with him. She was upset about something.

"You carry that bike around everywhere with you? " He quipped, It had meant to come out as snarky comment, but somehow it carried a note of sadness to it.

Misty smirked, rising to the bate. "Yeah. Helps me to remember. Remember the little kid who almost drowned and then proceeded to wreck my bike." She looked at the bicycle fondly, "I like keeping it with me as much as I can, feels like I 'm always closer to the people attached to those memories. Sounds silly though, doesn't it? " She laughed.

"Doesn't sound so silly to me." Ash replied seriously. He fished into one of his pockets only to show her the lure she had once given him when they parted ways the last time.

There was something in Misty's expression at seeing that he continued to carry the item with him that made his breath catch a little, and he swallowed thickly before continuing.

"Mist- "

"Ash, I can't. It just... It wouldn't be fair to me. "

The words hung heavy in the air, and perhaps they could be taken to mean many different things, but Ash knew what they really meant. He'd come to learn the reason right at the end, where once again they found themselves forced to go different paths.

She was giving him a way out, he realized. That way they would carry on as normal, one dancing around the other but never quite committing to the idea that there was something there, something that had always been there from the very first day they met. But Ash didn't want to be without Misty. And with that realization came the sudden thought:

' _I don't want to be without Misty. Well, why should I be?'_

Ash could only hope his suspicions would prove to be correct. Before she could ride away, he put himself in the bike's path, preventing her from leaving. She looked at him surprise.

"Ash just don't... don't make this any more difficult than it has to be. "

It all came out in a rush, and even as Misty gripped the handle bars and put her foot to the pedal, she felt almost incapable of pushing off to move. It was like she was stuck in some sort of strange stasis, incapable of moving forward, incapable of moving on until she had heard him say the condemning words that would probably shatter her heart.

Ash, for his part, hadn't moved from his position in front of the bike. If she had glanced up, she probably would have noticed the raven-haired boy also seemed in a similar predicament. His expression was one of genuine awe and quiet contemplation. Ash placed his hands on the bikes' handles so they were positioned parallel to Misty's, the action causing Misty to inadvertently raise her eyes to meet his own.

The pokemon trainer seemed to be teetering on the edge of something, his whole body showing nervousness only akin to when facing a big battle. But it was the expression on his face that took Misty's breath away. She thought desperately to think back to when she might have seen it, because she had, and before she could place it Ash was leaning over the handle bars, drawing his face closer to hers. Misty felt the heat rise to her face, her heart begin to flutter and beat so wildly in her chest it thundered in her ears. Misty's eyes closed on their own accord as the softest of touches brushed against her lips. The warmth returned almost immediately as Ash tentatively and then firmly pressed his lips against her own. Misty's stomach swooped and her heart soared. _Finally, she was kissing Ash Ketchum_. The very thought made her smile and to her thrill Ash too, smiled into their shared kiss.

When Misty opened her eyes, those familiar mocha colored eyes blinked back at her, his face tinged slightly pink. She too felt a permanent flush to her cheeks and knew she must paint a similar picture.

She smiled at him shyly, "Wow."

"Mist, don't leave." He said croakily, then cleared his throat in embarrassment.

Misty cleared her own throat, not trusting her voice.

"Come here." She said. Emboldened by his actions, she clasped his jacket, the bike wobbling precariously under her but held steady by his hands.

"How did I even entertain the thought? " She said, and he laughed as she shifted her weight to lean in and kiss him again.


End file.
